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Saturday, August 06, 2011

Imperium launch assault on Tau Base

The battle of the Tyndar Plateau took place on Tyndareous on 0108.011M42 between the Tau forces which had dug in on the Imperial world, and a hastily formed conglomerate of Imperial troops, which were thrown against their enemy with such speed that the Tau were taken completely by surprise. The Tau found themselves isolated and without air support. The Imperium, under the direction of Inquisitor Lord Xanthus, had managed to secure the support of the Lamenters, the Blood Angels and two regiments of Zadoci Guard, as well as a large amount of Librian equipment. The Librians themselves, who could not be trusted, were interred for the duration of the war on Tyndareous.Lamenters scouts established the position of the base some days before the battle, skillfully avoiding the alien perimeter patrols, and began planning the attack. The plan called for the Imperial Guard regiments to take the brunt of the Tau firepower, attacking head on towards the main Tau watchtower. Meanwhile the Astartes troops would attack from the flanks, isolating the Tau base from support and ensuring its capture, along with the vital intelligence and important personell the Imperium knew were present.The attack went as planned, with the Imperial assault soon threatening the inner sanctum of the Tau base. The Lamenters and Blood Angels in particular were murderous, slaughtering all who stood in their way, and hundreds of Kroot and Tau fire warriors died appalling deaths at the hands of the space marines. The Imperial Guard meanwhile suffered badly at the hands of Tau railguns. Tanks were blown apart and the Imperial assault began to stagger.At the height of the battle the Astartes forces looked like breaking through the Tau defences, and the xenos desperately tried to evacuate their personell before the Imperium overran the base. While calling for air support and significant reinforcement, the Tau commander on the ground knew that only intervention from the Hunter Cadre of the Ksi'm'yen sept could save them from certain disaster. The cadre of the Ksi'm'yen sept, stationed some kilometres away, were one of Shadowstrike's own, and the Tau commander's legendary promotion of rapid deployment and manouvre now came into play. Shadowstrike's forces counter attacked at the height of the battle, and in a desperate attempt to rescue the ethereal who remained in the watchtower with the troops of Fastblade. completely uncaring of casualties, Shas'el Swift Tide lead the rescue attempt and died in the fighting, while Commander Moonshine's forces attempted to stave of a furious assault from the Lamenters on the Tau left. Fastblade's forces too made huge sacrifices, suffering 80% casualties trying to buy time for the evacuation of key personell.What the Imperium didn't know however, was at the very time they were launching their assault the Tau were already planning their full invasion of Tyndareous. As the outer Tau base fell and the battle raged, fresh troops were being landed by Manta onto the bases' central airfield from the orbiting tau fleet and their arrival, and the threat of aerial attack forced the imperial forces to withdraw.The Tau had managed for the most part to prevent the Imperium from getting hold of vital intelligence, but at terrible cost. Casualties were horrendous and the sacrifice was immediately hailed and was ranked among the great Tau battles in the sector. The Imperium had inflicted terrible damage on the Tau and learnt some of their motives, but now they found themselves with a determined enemy who now had fresh reinforcements. Xanthus now had a real war on his hands.